'I think': Guenther Steiner answers whether he thinks Alpine will retain Franco Colapinto for next season

Franco Colapinto is under immense pressure to keep his seat at Alpine after a horror 2025 campaign.

The Enstone outfit are bottom of the constructors’ championship with 20 points, all coming from Pierre Gasly. The Frenchman started the season with Jack Doohan, but the Aussie was dropped six races into the season for Colapinto after an underwhelming start.

However, the Argentine has fared no better since stepping into the A525 at Imola. Multiple crashes, which plagued him at Williams last season, and rookie mistakes have left him still searching for a point after 11 races.

Pressure has been mounting on the 21-year-old to keep his seat, with his contract expiring in 2025. Flavio Briatore, who played a key role in promoting Colapinto, has been assessing his options, with the likes of Sergio Perez, Zhou Guanyu and Alex Dunne all being mentioned.

After finishing 19th and last on the road at the Azerbaijan GP, reports suggested that Alpine could drop Colapinto immediately. If Briatore were to pull the plug, he would promote from within the Enstone outfit.

Guenther Steiner thinks Franco Colapinto will keep his Alpine seat over Paul Aron in 2026

Reserve driver Paul Aron is the ‘leading candidate’ to replace Colapinto at Alpine, with the Estonian taking part in numerous TPC tests this season. F1 Oversteer understands that paddock insiders are stunned that Doohan has not replaced Colapinto, with the Aussie seemingly not in the running.

Juan Pablo Montoya thinks Aron is not ‘the answer’ for Alpine’s woes in 2025 as they continue to struggle at the back. He believes that the team need a big name to properly challenge Gasly if they were to drop Colapinto.

Speaking via The Red Flags Podcast, Guenther Steiner thinks that the Argentine will keep his seat in 2026. However, he stressed that he will be ‘gone’ if he cannot deliver next to Gasly in the new car, which will run with Mercedes engines.

“Colapinto is making progress in the moment. Hitting the wall, yeah I know that, but look where the car is,” he said.

“You cannot judge a driver with a car like this. Look at Bortoleto, what he did in the Sauber when the Sauber was s— [at the] beginning of the year. Nobody thought he could drive a car. Now that the car is half decent, he’s shining.

“I think Flavio wants to wait. He keeps him in the car beginning of next year and knows that if he’s not delivering beginning of next year with a new car, see where the car is and if he’s not delivering compared with Gasly, he’s gone.

“But I think he will see this season out and start the next season, that’s my opinion.”

READ MORE: Who is Alpine 2025 F1 driver Franco Colapinto? Everything you need to know

What has Franco Colapinto said about his Formula 1 future?

Colapinto was initially on a race-by-race contract at Alpine, immediately piling the pressure on the young talent. Now, he faces falling off the grid come 2026, and it could even come sooner.

Colapinto has addressed his F1 future, stating that he is not thinking about what will happen at the end of the season. He is focusing on working alongside Gasly, who is trying to solve Alpine’s woes.

But with Briatore’s reputation for sacking drivers, which has already been seen in 2025 with Doohan, Colapinto has every reason to be worried about his future. The Alpine boss is narrowing down his options for 2026.

Briatore was criticised for his statements about Colapinto’s possible replacement and how he would promote from within his current pool of drivers. Aron is waiting in the wings to take the seat; the Argentine must find improvements to stay on the grid.